The Absolute Best Dessert At Olive Garden Is Also The Most Shareable

Olive Garden might be known for its legendary breadsticks and chicken alfredo, but its dessert menu is quite impressive, too. If you've never ordered from it, we'd understand: The Italian-American restaurant's portion sizes are notably large, which makes it unlikely that you have room for dessert after a big plate of pasta. Next time you're there, though, we encourage you to leave some room for dessert. Luckily, even if you're too full to stomach the chocolate lasagna, the absolute best Olive Garden dessert is totally shareable, according to our ranking. The Warm Italian Doughnuts, which come with a side of either raspberry or chocolate sauce, are light, fluffy, and perfect for sharing with the table.

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One order will get you seven fried doughnuts that are tossed in vanilla sugar. They're served warm, which makes them an ultra-comforting treat after a meal. Because they're fried, these doughnuts are slightly crispy on the outside, making them great for dipping, and perfectly soft and pillowy inside. You might expect an order of doughnuts to be circular, with a hole in the center, but these doughnuts are different: Each one is rectangular, sort of a mashup between a Long John donut and a New Orleans beignet. However, according to Olive Garden, its doughnuts are inspired by Italian zeppole.

Are Olive Garden's donuts really Italian?

You probably already know that Olive Garden is very much an Italian-American restaurant; most of the restaurant's best dishes do not actually exist in Italy (see: spaghetti and meatballs). This applies to Olive Garden's dessert menu, too. While many of the offerings are Italian-inspired, most of them are not Italian. Tiramisu is the exception to this, but trust us: You are unlikely to find a black-tie mousse cake in Italy unless you're in a restaurant that caters to American tourists.

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As mentioned, Olive Garden's doughnuts are inspired by zeppole. Zeppole is an Italian doughnut-like dessert that is traditionally eaten during La Festa di San Giuseppe, otherwise known as Father's Day, which is in March. They're also eaten during Carnevale, which is celebrated 40 days before Easter. The history of zeppole is widely debated; some say they originated in Ancient Rome, while others say they were invented in Naples during the 19th century. Regardless of how, exactly, they came to be, one thing is certain: In Italy, zeppole are typically spherical, made with choux pastry, and topped with custard, powdered sugar, and a black cherry.

Clearly, Olive Garden's version of the zeppole differs greatly from the real-deal Italian version. They are similar to the Italian-American version of zeppole, however, which usually isn't usually served with custard, but even these are spherical rather than rectangular. Regardless of their authenticity, Olive Garden's doughnuts are still delicious and the optimal dessert choice if you're dining with a big group — take our word for it. 

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